E-commerce Copywriting: A Guide to Crafting Copy for Crazy Conversions [2024 Update]

Every successful online store NEEDs customer-centric e-commerce copywriting. Your copywriting solely determines how likely your web visitors are to convert. 

When crafting e-commerce copy, brands must convey their value propositions and brand identity while giving consumers buying confidence. With over 12 million Ecommerce stores, it’s more vital than ever to use e-commerce copy that proves your brand is authentic and offers something your competitors don’t.

Unfortunately, it gets a lot more challenging than leveraging unique e-commerce copy. Businesses have to consider loads of factors if they want to see impressive conversions.

For starters, a personalized CTA is 220% more effective than having no CTA. And readers will only consume about 20% of a page’s copy, so you must know how to structure your copy for readability while delivering optimal value.

There may be a lot to learn for successful e-commerce copywriting. But if you want to build an online store with steady sales and loyal customers, you have to get on board!

We’ll make this easier for you with an ultimate guide on the best practices for e-commerce copywriting! Plus, real-life examples of how brands have finessed e-commerce copy and fantastic templates for your online store.

Ready to learn about e-commerce copywriting and maximize your conversions?

Let’s go!

What is E-commerce Copywriting?

E-commerce copywriting refers to text brands use for their online stores. This text, known as copy, is created to inform and persuade web visitors while sharing a brand’s voice and value proposition.

There are many sections on an online stores website that rely on well-crafted e-commerce copy. Some of these areas include product pages, homepages, headlines, landing pages, and product descriptions.

When you create e-commerce copywriting, there are loads of aspects to consider. Remember, this copy must drive web visitors to conversion through personalized and engaging ad copy, highlighting the best perks of your product and brand.

However, not many businesses get e-commerce copywriting right the first time around. It’s most likely going to take a little trial and error and some A/B testing before you find the approach that works best for you.

Source: Learn With Shopify

11 Top Tips to Craft E-commerce Copy that Sells

1.Outline Your Buyer Personas

Before you start writing, who are you writing for?

Gather in-depth research on your customers, competitors, and marketing trends. When you pin down specific details of your target audience and what pain points and marketing barriers they face, you’re more likely to create impactful e-commerce copy.

Buyers want to work with brands that understand them. Research-backed personalization tactics are one way to connect and relate to your customers.

When you outline buyer personas, you create a visual interpretation of your target customer base and what they need. This information lays the foundation for your e-commerce copywriting approach and how you tailor it to your audience.

For e-commerce copywriting, this is what you need to know about your audience to create buyer personas:

• Geographic location
• Demographics
• Pain points
• Budget
• Active social platforms
• Buying trends

You can gather these details by analyzing your current buyers and using Google! To make this data actionable and intuitive, use a template like this:

2.Define Your Brand Voice and Copy Goals

Defining your brand identity and voice makes crafting tailored, authentic copy easier.

You must have a brand voice true to your identity to forge relationships with target buyers. Customers learn to trust businesses with distinct and consistent brand voices and identities. 

You’re crafting e-commerce copy to convert, so creating connections between your brand and buyers is imperative.

Are you humorous, light-hearted, direct, playful, or hopeful?

Who is your brand, and how do you want to make customers feel?

Use your target buyer persona from Tip #1 to help determine what brand voice will engage your audience.

Consistently ensure you use your brand voice in all your marketing channels and strategies.

While creating e-commerce copy, ask yourself, “Is this approach true to my brand identity and value proposition?”.

As important as your brand voice is, so are goals for your e-commerce copy. Yes, you want to scale and make more money, but what actions must buyers take to reach that? 

When considering your e-commerce copy goals, ensure your goals are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. SMART goals help you track and analyze your e-commerce copy’s performance. Build on your e-commerce copywriting with data from your previous SMART goals to perfect your approach. 

3.Nail Your Value Proposition

Why should buyers care about you?

What are you offering targeted customers that your competitors aren’t?

Every brand must have a clear value proposition for competitive marketing.

To nail your value proposition, consider your products and how they solve your target buyer’s needs in ways your competitors don’t. Focus on how your brand and products benefit your buyers.

For example, Poo-Pourri uses the tagline “Tell Bathroom Odor to Buzz Off!” on its product page. In a few words, buyers understand what this brand offers – bathroom fragrance to replace foul odors with fresh and pleasant scents.

Another fantastic example of a value proposition for e-commerce copy is from Glossier.

The value proposition and purpose are clear from the get-go – Glossier is offering consumers makeup that looks ultra-natural on their skin:

While Glossier sells many more products than makeup, they’ve defined a specific value proposition for this selection of products.

Glossier can determine a value proposition for selected ranges of products because they’ve already determined the brand’s overall purpose and what they aim to achieve.

4.Use SEO Best Practices

SEO is key in every digital marketing strategy, including e-commerce copywriting! Your SEO tactics determine how easily your target audience can find your brand and products. Taking advantage of SEO allows you to become more discoverable and gain higher traction. 

For example, if you use Google to search “women’s boots” and click the “Shopping” button, several products from different brands appear. It must be this simple for customers to find your business and products. 

SEO for e-commerce copy is much more technical than it seems. If you’re preparing to start your e-commerce copywriting strategy, do keyword research to find trending words and terms.

These keywords must be relevant to your industry and buyers. For instance, if you’re offering a project management tool, you may use the term “project management tool” as the primary keyword for your homepage. 

As you progress and develop your e-commerce copy, different pieces of copy and web pages will rank for different keywords. You can recycle primary keywords as secondary keywords for other main SEO search terms. 

Use unique primary keywords for every piece of e-commerce copy. Brands must avoid creating two pieces of copy that rank for the same key term.

But let’s assume you’ve already written e-commerce copy and ranked for SEO keywords. Do an SEO audit (I’ll mention tools that can help you do this shortly) and analyze how your chosen keywords are performing. If they’re doing well, build on those keywords with others for different e-commerce copy. 

If your current keywords are a bust, use an SEO tool to help you find trending, relevant keywords. You may have to rewrite your e-commerce copy to rank for your new keywords.  

Get a paid SEO tool for in-depth research, accurate keywords, and robust features to optimize and test your copy.

Some of the best SEO tools for e-commerce copywriting are:

• SEMrush
• Ahrefs
• Yoast
• Moz
• Surfer
• UberSuggest

5.Focus on the Customer

The customer is your most vital aspect of e-commerce copy. Speak directly to your buyer and engage them while providing purchasing confidence.

After crafting copy, evaluate whether it speaks to your audience’s pain points and encompasses your brand voice and values.

If you’re a B2B provider and your target audience needs more convincing than most, let this inspire your copy’s features. Approach your buyers in a way that proves your credibility and earns their trust.

You can include social proof elements like industry experience, expert/celebrity endorsement, reviews, case studies, testimonials, etc.

Because you’ve created buyer personas, focusing your copy on your buyers will be ten times easier. You already understand who your buyers are and what they what. Now you must determine how to angle your copy for a customer-centric approach.

Of course, you may have valuable points you’d like to share about your business and products.

Mention this information in a way that makes buyers feel like you’re focusing entirely on what works for them rather than selling your brand. For example, consider the difference between “…we are certified by ABC” vs. “these ABC certified products can help you..”.

The second example allows you to make readers feel like the priority, and you get a chance to validate your products.

6.Don’t Oversell Benefits

We just explored focusing on your customers’ needs and proving how your product can help them. But don’t oversell yourself.

Many businesses use this silly tactic and try to convince buyers with loads of adjectives and sensationalized words, like “world-class” and “revolutionary”.

These words make buyers feel like you’re trying too hard to prove the value of your products. Your products must speak for themselves.

Avoid desperate CTAs with over-the-top words. Use a direct approach to persuade customers to take action. When buyers feel a brand is trying too hard to sell its products and value, they’ll doubt your business.

Your CTA may also become unclear in a sea of adjectives. But when you use active verbs, you can gently instruct your audience on what to do to convert.

How you list your benefits varies based on what e-commerce copy you’re creating. For instance, you can use bullet lists for product descriptions while having different sections on your homepage defining your brand’s overall value and benefits.

When you share the advantages of using your products, don’t make false claims, and speak directly to your audience with words like “You” and “Your”.

7.Add Urgency

Urgency adds a little bit of pressure to take your desired action. While the first piece of e-commerce copy buyers interact with may engage them, it doesn’t always convert them.

The more persuasive and urgent your e-commerce copywriting approach, the better your chance of instant conversions. This practice works better for B2C brands because customers in this sector make less thought-out purchasing choices.

Using urgency for B2B e-commerce copywriting also works, but it may take more time to convert web visitors. 

You can add urgency to e-commerce copy in many ways like:

• Add countdown timers
• Use popups for sales and discounts
• Use scarcity and exclusivity with words like “only 7 left” and “limited edition”. 
• Display a popup to web visitors every time customers buy your products. 

When you use any of these elements, add a CTA close to your urgency feature. For example, you may add a “Buy Now” button directly under “only 7 left”. Or, if you’re using a popup or a countdown timer, add a CTA under or near it.  

Including CTAs near copy elements that create urgency works because it creates a natural flow. Think about it. Your urgent copy persuades buyers to take action now. And conveniently, a CTA is right there to guide them to conversion. 

8.Perfect Your Headlines

Headlines play a pivotal role in e-commerce copywriting because they announce your copy. Once web visitors read your headlines, they’ll decide if they’re interested. Yes, this is how much power headlines hold.

Lengthy headlines stuffed with industry jargon bore buyers. But if your headlines are too short or ambiguous, readers won’t understand your point.

Brainstorm headlines that capture your paragraph text’s message concisely and directly. Even better results for those businesses who reflect their brand identity and voice in their headlines.

A whopping 80% of web visitors will only read your headlines, so you must perfect them.

Here are a few features of e-commerce copywriting headlines:

• Few but impactful words
• SEO keywords
• Suggestive
• Related to the copy
• Relevant to customer trends
• Reflective on your brand voice and identity

9.Stick to Short Paragraphs and Simple Sentences

Short paragraphs and simple sentences do the trick for e-commerce copywriting that converts. You want to persuade and sell to your customers, not overload them with information.

Use a conversational tone to create a connection between your audience and business. It’s also easier to write short sentences with this approach.

Check your copy multiple times to ensure that all your words carry value and direct the reader toward conversion.

Information that your audience may not need to know in that specific copy is best for a different section of your website (product specifications boxes and FAQ sections are useful for info that isn’t essential but could be the nudge your customer needs to make a purchase).  

10.Include Visuals

Visuals are an excellent way to enhance your copy’s storytelling and keep customers engaged. Customers love visual content so add this to your e-commerce copy to break up parts of information. Your visuals also add character to your copy.

You’ve probably shopped online before, and I’m sure you can remember how much visuals added to your buying experience. It makes a difference to see the products you want to buy, the emotions you want to feel, or an experience you want to be a part of.

When you use images, graphics, animations, or videos in your e-commerce copy, you make it easy to connect with your buyers and provide buying assurance.

11.Check Your Spelling and Grammar

Would you purchase from a brand that uses “they’re” instead of “their”? Probably not. So, ensure your spelling, syntax and grammar are perfect. Use the correct words, structure your sentences and use the correct tenses too.

Buyers will find it easier to trust you and your products when your copy is professional, polished and well-written.

Before publishing your copy, use a grammar and plagiarism checker tool. The grammar tool will remove all the unnecessary words and eliminate spelling errors.

Your plagiarism checker tool will ensure that you’re using creative, authentic approaches that customers haven’t seen elsewhere, and that will not be flagged for plagiarism by search engines.

A tool like Grammarly is an excellent option because it offers both grammar and plagiarism checking.

Plus, you can set copy goals based on your copy’s purpose and what emotions you want to convey. Grammarly has an online tool and a Chrome extension. You can use it for free or pay for premium features and functions.

5 Excellent Examples of E-commerce Stores that Nailed Their Copy

1.Lush

Lush is a cosmetics brand with successful experiential marketing campaigns and fantastic e-commerce copy for their online store.

This brand voice is fun and playful while providing a sense of concern for consumers and the products they use on their hair and body.

Notice how Lush maintains this brand voice and approach throughout all their e-commerce copy. Let’s specifically consider the image below:

 

Key Takeaways:

• Using copy that rhymes, “We Care about hair”  adds a natural flow and maintains Lush’s brand voice.
• The desired action for this specific section is obvious – Lush wants web visitors to stay on-site for longer and view their products. They’ve used a CTA button on the left-hand side beneath the copy. There are also more CTA buttons for every product, making it easy for web visitors to convert.
• They use fun product names that reflect the brand identity.  Like American Cream and Angel Hair. 

2.FireBox

FireBox is an authentic e-commerce store that sells unusual items. From novelty planters and bath bombs to personalized gifts, they sell a bunch of wacky, weird products.

This e-commerce store certainly plays into its quirky identity, using bold colors and eye-catching visuals to convey its storytelling:

Key takeaways:

• The quirky phrase “Worth a Shot” plays into the brand’s identity and relates to the product they’re promoting for this copy – alcohol with unique combinations.
• A CTA is directly beneath the copy so web visitors can effortlessly convert.
• They list all the best benefits (delivery and return info) of purchasing from their brand above the primary copy. Adding this information in a digestible way allows FireBox to provide more persuading details without lengthy text.

3.Nike

Who doesn’t know Nike? And who doesn’t think they have super-personalized e-commerce copy? Nike has spent a lot of time and resources to develop the brand loyalty they have today.

As more than just an e-commerce store, Nike has positioned itself as one of the most successful sports brands globally, with an established community of fans and brand advocates.

It’s no surprise that Nike uses tailored copy for their product descriptions:

Here’s a clearer picture of just the product description for this e-commerce copywriting example by Nike:

Key takeaways:

• The product description is lengthy but flows organically and speaks directly to the reader.
• The product copy provides ideas of how to wear this sneaker and what inspired its design. With a world-renowned brand like Nike including this information, it develops deeper connections between buyers and the sneakers they choose for themselves. The purchasing choice seems more personalized to what the customer wants because of this background information. 
• Notice the disclosure, “This product is excluded from site promotions and discounts” has a subtle font in contrast to the product description. This is a fantastic idea because while the information is vital it doesn’t draw readers away from the product text. 

4.Bite

Bite is an e-commerce store aiming to help customers “reinvent their routines” through eco-friendly products. And in particular, eco-friendly toothpaste.

This brand is a fantastic example of environmental marketing as Bite encourages buyers to purchase from and promote their green cause.

Exploring Bite’s website and reading the copy gives you a light-hearted feeling that sparks motivation.

All the visuals are high-quality and sharp, and they’ve used a calming color palette to complement their ‘natural, clean and cruelty-free’ brand identity.

Key takeaways:

• Using the terms “plastic-free” and “clean ingredients” while bolding them makes it easier for readers to scan these terms. And because these words reflect Bite’s value proposition, this makes for excellent e-commerce copywriting.
• The headline is a little lengthy, but flows organically as one sentence. There are also no unnecessary words or information, and it sums up Bite’s value proposition. 
• Bite includes CTA’s and prices for each of the products, making it easy to convert.

5.Punk IPA

Punk IPA is an American beer made by BrewDog. This beer brand is quite popular and well-known for its edgy brand identity.

The marketing for Punk IPA maintains the industrious style and laid-back, friendly tone, and it’s evident in this example.

Without knowing much about this brand’s marketing strategies, they understand their audience through the conversational tone and in-depth details about what inspired this beer and its ingredients.

Key takeaways:

• They include a logo for branding and credibility and copy above the “Buy Now” CTA to reinforce their value proposition.
• As we saw in the example of Nike, there’s a lot of text in the product description. However, the paragraphs are short, and there’s enough whitespace making it comfortable for readers to scan.
• While there are a few descriptive words, it complements the mental journey this brand wants to take buyers on. They want to detail the process of making this beer well enough for buyers to envision it and feel a part of it. 

2 Amazing E-commerce Copywriting Templates to Use in 2024

1.Traditional E-commerce Copywriting Template

The e-commerce copywriting template for product pages below is the traditional way to do it. But it doesn’t mean this isn’t a relevant template because it houses all the most vital bits of information you need.

You can use the bullet list to promote the benefits of your products while providing more details in the product description. Some businesses choose to explain what inspired their product in the product description and only use the bullet list to name benefits.

Tips for this E-commerce Copywriting Template:

• Use the bullet list to write concise benefits of your product. Avoid using a lot of adjectives, and focus on valuable information to inform your audience.
• In the detailed description, share valuable information about your product. You can mention the inspiration behind your product, what went into making it, or different ways buyers can use it.
• Keep your product name short and sweet. Consider product listings on Amazon with super-lengthy product names. These bloated product names make the overall page very hard to scan.

2.ConvertKit’s Product Page Template

If you want to add a twist to the traditional product page template, it’s a great option. Without veering too much from the typical choice, this template is much easier to read and offers more whitespace.

You can add an engaging and relevant headline beside your product image or video and concisely mention the benefits. Unlike the previous template, your benefits section is much more intuitive but limits how many benefits you can list.

At the bottom of the template, adding a CTA close to your pricing information is genius. Think about it – after checking the price buyers most likely want to purchase, and the CTA button allows them to do so.

Tips for this E-commerce Copywriting Template:

• Ensure your headline is attention-grabbing and relevant to your product. This headline must also reflect your brand voice.
• If you choose to format your social proof with one review showing, use a slideshow. You can also format the text using three different sections each for a testimonial or review, like the pricing information section below.
• Add a small blurb below your headline to introduce your product.
• List the top benefits of your product, using valuable and persuasive copy. 

5 Best E-commerce AI Copywriting Tools

We tested 11 AI copywriting tools and these five are the best ones:

Conclusion

E-commerce copywriting is an essential aspect of every successful online store. The copy you craft must speak to your target buyer’s needs while embracing your value proposition, brand identity, and desired action for conversion.

Brands use this copy for their product descriptions, web page headlines, and landing pages, proving just how imperative it is to craft e-commerce copy that sells.

To create successful e-commerce copy and drive sales, brands must focus entirely on their customer’s needs, define a brand voice and copy goals, outline ideal buyer personas, and perfect their value proposition.

A few fantastic examples of e-commerce copywriting done right include Lush, Nike, and Bite! To learn how to create impactful e-commerce copy geared toward conversion, this is the ultimate guide you need!

References

Codeless: 25 Fascinating Copywriting Statistics In 2024

WPForms: 68 Useful eCommerce Statistics You Must Know in 2024

HubSpot: Personalized Calls to Action Perform 202% Better Than Basic CTAs [New Data]

Nielsen Norman Group: How Little Do Users Read?